The Mystery of the Leaping Fish

Before gaining fame as an action hero, Douglas Fairbanks appeared in this oddity of a film from 1916, supposedly co-written by the star himself, D.W. Griffith and Tod Browning, although only the latter received billing. The nimble heartthrob stars as Coke Ennyday, "the world's greatest scientific detective". The sleuth employs copious amounts of cocaine, an array of quirky gadgets and his not always quick wit to solve the titular mystery of this bizarre thinly veiled parody of the "Sherlock Holmes" series. (toshist)